Hamas official to 'Post': Deal likely this week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Brenda Gazzar, Yaakov Katz, Tovah Lazaroff - February 3, 2009 - 1:00am

A top Hamas official told The Jerusalem Post late on Monday that he believes an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas is likely to be reached by Thursday. Ahmed Youssef, the Gaza-based deputy foreign minister and former political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said he had not yet heard back from a Hamas delegation in Cairo, which was scheduled to meet Egyptian officials about a cease-fire proposal. But he said he was optimistic that a cease-fire agreement was imminent.

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Abbas, US envoy push Mideast peace in Paris talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas headed to Paris on Monday to try to drum up diplomatic support for a unity government and to push for a role in rebuilding the war-shattered Gaza Strip, controlled by rival Hamas. With scattered violence in Gaza straining an informal cease-fire between Israel and Hamas militants, Abbas was expected to join French, U.S. and other officials in meetings aimed at finding sturdier solutions for Gaza.

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Hamas: We're in no hurry to talk with Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
February 1, 2009 - 1:00am

Hamas will not push for Palestinian reconciliation talks if President Mahmoud Abbas insists on the supremacy of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Islamist group said Monday. In a statement mocking Abbas and his supporters, a high-level Hamas official accused Abbas of siding with Israel during its recent invasion of Gaza, and seeking to "return on Israeli tanks" to govern the territory.

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U.S. envoy Mitchell: Mideast peace process faces substantial hurdles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - January 30, 2009 - 1:00am

United States Mideast envoy George Mitchell said on Friday the new U.S. administration's push for Israeli-Palestinian peace after the war in the Gaza Strip faced substantial hurdles, and he predicted further setbacks. The somber assessment by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell followed two days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders about shoring up a shaky cease-fire that ended Israel's 22-day offensive on Gaza. Mitchell said consolidating the truce and "addressing immediately the humanitarian needs" of Gaza's 1.5 million residents were the Obama administration's priorities.

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A long and bumpy road
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
January 30, 2009 - 1:00am

AS AN array of diplomats intensify their efforts to consolidate the ceasefire that took hold in the Gaza Strip after January 18th, the battered territory’s 1.5m people were still gasping for desperately-needed help. Gazans are terrified that violence might return, as tit-for-tat attacks resumed at a relatively low but still dangerous level. Most Gazans now rely on food handouts to survive.

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U.S. says open Gaza border to choke arms smuggling
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Andrew Hammond - January 30, 2009 - 1:00am

U.S. envoy George Mitchell said on Thursday opening the Gaza Strip to commercial goods would help to choke off the smuggling that Israel fears could replenish Hamas's weapons stocks. But he said the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas must help to supervise the crossings, a demand that has been a major sticking point in Egyptian-brokered negotiations with the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers for a long-term ceasefire.

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Top UN official blasts Hamas for 'cynical' use of civilian facilities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 28, 2009 - 1:00am

United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Chief John Holmes blasted Hamas Tuesday for its "cynical" use of civilian facilities during recent hostilities in the Gaza Strip. "The reckless and cynical use of civilian installations by Hamas and indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian populations are clear violations of international humanitarian law," Holmes told the UN Security Council.

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Israel launches attacks in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
January 27, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel launches attacks in Gaza Israel has carried out an air attack in the Gaza Strip and launched an incursion with tanks and bulldozers across the border. Palestinian sources say there has been fighting near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, with people fleeing their homes. The incursion follows a bomb attack which killed one Israeli soldier and wounded three near the Gaza border. It is the worst violence since Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza ended with both sides declaring ceasefires.

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Hamas wants shorter truce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
January 26, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel has proposed to Egyptian mediators an 18-month ceasefire with Hamas, but the Islamist group that controls Gaza said it wants a one-year ceasefire, a Hamas official said on Sunday. “Hamas listened to the Israeli proposal presented by [Israeli defence ministry official] Amos Gilad, and with it a proposal for a ceasefire for a year-and-a-half, but Hamas presented a counterproposal of one year only,” Ayman Taha told reporters in Cairo after talks with Egyptian intelligence officials.

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Will Hamas win the peace?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Mohammed Yaghi - January 26, 2009 - 1:00am

For generations to come, the Palestinians will remember the horrific war in Gaza with pain and bitterness. But what cannot yet be seen is how Palestinians will view Hamas. Whether Hamas can claim a victory and whether Palestinians will believe them will be determined by the type of ceasefire that is eventually agreed, if a formal one is eventually agreed. The endgame - for both Israel and Hamas - is thus crucially important.

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